THE ISLAND OF SARDINIA AND ITS PEOPLE
will rise where now there are only a few
miserable huts, inhabited by poor shep
herds who guide their flocks in search of
scanty food.
The Flumendosa, though it has a shorter
course than the Tirso, is certainly more
impressive, both for the volume of the
water it carries and the picturesqueness
of its banks.
It flows between barren
hills, but during the summer its banks
are covered with oleander shrubs. The
landscape assumes a lovely appearance,
and the pink flowers of the oleander min
gle with the brown hillsides, while the
river, which even in the hottest months
retains a considerable volume of water,
winds here and there, or spreads wide its
flood, according to the conformation of
its bed.
The landscape in this part of the island
is typically Sardinian. Villages are situ
ated far apart. Occasionally a flock of
white sheep studs the side of a hill, where
a small stone inclosure around a cone
shaped, thatch-roofed hut indicates the
existence of a fold. The highroad, in
splendid condition for motoring, in spite
of innumerable curves and hairpin turns,
runs along the side of overhanging hills,
barren and white.
Another stream which enters the sea on
the western coast is the Temo, on whose
banks the town of Bosa is built. It looks
more like a river than any other water
course in Sardinia.
Boats with wide
spread sails can ascend the current for
almost two miles, and near Bosa the river
flows amid the most beautiful orchards
and gardens in Sardinia; but its course is
so short and the roadstead into which it
empties so open that the Temo has no
commercial importance.
The same firm which has planned and
carried out the construction of the Tirso
dam has been commissioned to build simi
lar reservoirs for the Coghinas, Flumen
dosa, and Temo rivers.
SEA POOLS A FEATURE OF THE SOUTHERN
PROVINCE
Along the Sardinian coast, chiefly in
the southern province, are considerable
sheets of water, popularly known as
stagnt di mare (sea pools). Cagliari is
surrounded by such pools, which, being in
direct communication with the sea and
retaining in their water a considerable
amount of salt, are not dangerous to
health, as the larvae of mosquitoes can
not live in them.
The lake of Santa Gilla near Cagliari
forms a striking feature of the landscape
and is the haunt of innumerable wild
ducks and other waterfowl. Especially
is it a favorite spot for the flamingoes
that emigrate from Africa to spend the
hottest months of the year in the neigh
borhood of Cagliari.
In August, a little after sunset, those
strange birds may be seen flying high
above the city, in their daily journey from
the west pool to the east. Seen from be
low, they look like so many crosses, with
their outstretched necks, trailing legs, and
short wings.
TIE
MAIN ISLAND SURROUNI)E BY ISLETS
The stern Sardinian coast, with its
spurs and cliffs, presents an abrupt east
ern wall with few indentations. On the
western side, the shore has a gentle slope
as far as the Gulf of Alghero and Porto
Conte, the latter, however, being sur
rounded by high cliffs which form Cape
Caccia, site of the famous Neptune Grotto.
This is well worth visiting, but is diffi
cult to enter, as its mouth is situated at
sea-level and the slightest breeze piles
waves against the entrance.
The main island is surrounded by small
isles, of which Sant' Antioco is the larg
est. A narrow tongue of land, with the
aid of a short bridge built by the Romans,
connects it with the mainland. Next
comes the island of San Pietro, on which
is Carloforte, center for the most impor
tant tunny fisheries in Sardinia.
Off the northeast corner there is a
group of small islands, the most important
being La Maddalena and Caprera. The
latter is justly called the Sacred Island.
Here lived and died the great Italian
patriot Garibaldi, hero of two hemispheres.
Many other unimportant islets are scat
tered around the Sardinian coast.
Sardinia is rich in prehistoric remains.
No part of the island is entirely devoid
of those quaint old monuments, which
have defied time and weather and are still
standing as evidences of an old civilization
and a demonstration that the first Sar
dinians could not have been mere savages.